For the first time since the inception of the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF) five years ago, competitors in the sport of sailing are being offered the opportunity to experience the Olympic atmosphere. The AYOF is a legacy of the Sydney Olympic Games and prepares the athletes for the pressures of an Olympic Games. Competitors will live in an Olympic Village atmosphere, they undergo drug testing and attend the Opening Ceremony and Medal Ceremonies.

28 athletes from the 2001 and 2003 Festivals were selected for Athens 2004 Olympic Games. They won eight medals and if they were a country, they would have finished 26th on the medal tally.

72 sailors from all Australian states and five international teams will compete in a team racing event. It is planned that the area racing will take place will be in close proximity to the iconic Sydney landmarks of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. These landmarks will provide a memorable backdrop for the sailors who will take part in this event.

Sailors who competed in the Australian Team Racing Championship will be vying for team positions as the Australian representatives from each state.

Youth Worlds Medallists In Attendance

Competitors in the recent Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships 2006, silver medallists in the Boys' 420 division Sam KIVELL and Max TAYLOR will be representing Victoria and gold medal winners in the Girls' 420 division, Belinda KERL and Chelsea HALL, will represent Western Australia.

Teams from Great Britain, New Zealand, USA, France and Canada will join the Australian competitors for three days of intense racing with the final day having the top teams fight it out for the medals on offer. Team racing utilises an S shaped course with each match made up of six boats. Each race is approximately ten to 15 minutes in time and then the next six teams hit the start line.

Competitors will be using the two person Pacer dinghy and the teams swap boats each time they race thereby enabling fair competition.

'This is a fantastic opportunity for Australia's up and coming sailors to compete on the world stage against world class competition. They may be racing against, or even be our future Olympians. This festival and environment will give them a chance to experience the spirit and successes first hand,' commented Glen STANAWAY from Yachting Australia.

Tom Burton (AUS) and Alison Young (GBR) hit the right note in the Laser and Laser Radial at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne as they took out the top honours and qualification spots to the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final.

It was double Australian gold in the Paralympic classes. Matt Bugg (AUS) came out on top in the 2.4mR whilst London 2012 Paralympic SKUD18 gold medallists Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS) were triumphant in the two person keelboat.

Lithuania's Juozas Bernotas came out on top in the Men's RS:X whilst Russia's Stefania Elfutina was triumphant in the Women's RS:X. Both sailors claim the first Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Final spots whilst Jock Calvert (AUS) and Joanna Sterling (AUS) picked up the Oceanic spots for the Emirati finale.

There was some fast paced action in the 49er and 49erFX Medal Races at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne as Nathan Outteridge & Iain Jensen (AUS) and Maia & Ragna Agerup (NOR) claimed the honours and Abu Dhabi final spots.

A tight group of five young Papua New Guinean (PNG) Laser sailors are stepping up their 2015 Pacific Games competition program using this week's ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne. PNG is one of 33 countries represented at the important Oceanic event, the largest Olympic sailing regatta in the southern hemisphere.

Melbourne, Australia will host the final Rio 2016 Paralympic Games qualification regatta in 2015. With just under one year until the event, the 2015 IFDS Worlds was launched at ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne.

ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne kick starts the journey to the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with qualification spots and top ranking points available in the Australian city.

Shawn Bennett (USA) won the Long Beach Stop of the 2015 California Dreamin' Series Sunday in this International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade 3 match racing regatta hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club and raced on the Long Beach Sailing Foundation's fleet of Catalina 37s.

After the limits of the southern oceans imposed by the combination of the weather systems and the safety barrier of the Antarctic Exclusion Zone, the Atlantic is opening up for the top trio of the Barcelona World Race.